To connect two ideas and provide extra information about a noun, use the relative pronoun que.
| who / which / that (relative) | que |
In English, que can translate to "who", "which", or "that". It is invariable, meaning it never changes its form, regardless of whether the noun it refers to is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.
Referring to the Subject
Use que to describe the person or thing performing the action.
| This is the employee who works in the department. | Este é o funcionário que trabalha no departamento. |
| It was the manager who hired the specialist yesterday. | Foi o gestor que contratou o especialista ontem. |
Referring to the Object
Que can also refer to the object of the clause—the person or thing receiving the action. While in English you can often drop the word "that" (e.g., "The manager you know"), in Portuguese, you must always include que.
| The role that the employee has is very important. | A função que o funcionário tem é muito importante. |
| The manager that you know manages the new project. | O gestor que conheces gere o projeto novo. |
Building Complex Sentences
Use que to create more detailed, precise sentences about your professional network.
| Human resources are going to call the candidate that you recommended. | Os recursos humanos vão ligar ao candidato que recomendaste. |
| If human resources approve the plan, we hire the candidate who arrived today. | Se os recursos humanos aprovam o plano, contratamos o candidato que chegou hoje. |
| The client that I met is a contact in my network. | O cliente que conheci é um contacto na minha rede. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io